Rail anchor



Dec. 26, 1950 L ETAL 2,535,739

RAIL ANCHOR Filed March 17, 1949 INVENTOR. J4C05 AAA/71E 4W0 I 7 BY 572M 5) L F4 w/vazw Patented Dec. 26, 1950 nan. ANCHOR Jacob .A. Hyle, Pittsburgh, and Stanley L. Eavinger, Mount Lebanon, .Pa.

iApp'licationMar-ch 17, 1949., Serial No. 81,914

.1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to rail anchors.

.An objectof this invention is to provide a rail anchor which when in applied position will not function against the tie plate.

Another object of this invention is to provide a rail anchor which can he applied on either side of the :rail.

A further object lof this invention is to provide a rail anchor having a reduced or weakened intermediate portion :so the body of the anchor may .zspring down while it is :being applied to the rail then snap or spring up in proper applied position.

A further object of this invention is to provide a mail anchor which can be readily formed in a die set or upsetting device at low cost.

A further object aOf this invention is to provide a rail anchor having a large bearing area to fit against the wood crosstic and prevent any contact with the tie plate and the anchor. In using this anchor with its extended bearing area in contact with the side of the crosstie the number of anchors required for a given stretch of track can be reduced at least twenty-five percent, which means twenty-five perccnt less steel required and a twenty-five percent saving to the railways in anchor cost plus the labor cost saved.

A further object of this invention is to provide a rail anchor that functions against the wood crosstie and cannot contact the tie plate. Anchors that abut against the tie plate soon after application loosen the spikes and tie plate as well as cause openings in the treated wood tie wherein moisture will seep in and adds much to the deterioration of the costly creosoted wood tie.

To the foregoing objects, and others which may hereinafter more fully appear, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will be more specifically referred to and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modifications may be resorted to which fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein we illustrate the practical embodiment of the principles of our invention,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of our improved rail anchor in partly applied position on a railway rail;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the anchor in fully applied position on the rail;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the dotted line 3--3 in Fig. 2, illustrating the anchor provided with but one depending offset wall portion, and

4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the provision of a pair of parallel depending offsct wall portions.

Referring to the drawings, In indicates generally the base flange of a railway rail which is shown as mounted on a tie plate H which latter, in turn, rests on the =crosstie I2.

In order to hold the tie and :tie plate fixedly attached to the rail flange by the conventional spikes and to prevent the up and down move- .inent of the rail due to wheels passing thereover, we have provided the new and improved rail anchor hereinafter described.

The new rail anchor includes an elongated bar portion i l adapted, when in applied position, to hear upwardly against the base flange of the rail. At one extremity the bar is provided with an integral upwardly projecting jaw portion l5 arranged to engage in abutting relation against one of the longitudinal edges I6 of the base flange Hi. The opposite extremity of the bar [4 is integrally provided with the 'C-shaped clamp- .ing jaw ll arranged to engage the opposite longitudinal edge of the rail flange. The jaw l! is formed with an inwardly divergent lower face i ,8 and an obtusely disposed surface is. The surface IQ is adapted to contact the upwardly and inwardly inclined top surface 20 of the rail flange IE3 with the surface l8 slightly spaced from the surface 25 of the flange, as shown in Fig. 2.

Intermediate of its ends and, preferably, at a point spaced inwardly towards the center of the bar from the free end of the C-shaped jaw H, the bar is provided with a transverse notch or slot 2| in its upper surface, thereby providing the bar with a weakened portion 22 to provide resiliency.

eferring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, formed at one side of the bar I 4 is an integral vertical depending plate portion 23 which is offset laterally from the vert cal plane of the side of the t e l2 and thus when the anchor is instal ed on the rail the vertical outer surfs ce 25 of the wall portion will be disposed in substantial contact with the vertical side of the tie, thus maintaining the anchor spaced out of contact with the adjacent edge 26 of the tie plate H, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

In 4 the bar 14 is provided with a pair of depending plate portions 23 and 24, one depending from and in oifset relat on with either side of the tie. In this modification the anchor may be installed with either side plate in contact with the tie, in either of which instances contact between the anchor and the tie plate is rendered impossible.

In the case of both structures the top edges of the depending plate portions are located below the level of the tie plates when the anchor is in position, the plate portions merging with the body of the bar by inclined or curved areas which are arranged to clear the tie plate.

In both the case of the single depending plate portion 23 illustrated in Fig. 3 and the case of the pair of depending wall portions illustrated in Fig. 4, the wall portions are provided with upwardly extending slots 28 which in effect substantially divide the wall portion into a relatively long body portion 29 adjacent the C-shaped jaw 11 and a relatively short body portion 30, the long body portion of the plate or plates being disposed adjacent the jaw portion I of the bar 14 while the long body portion extends beneath the base of the rail and substantiall to the end 3! of the bar. Preferably the upwardly extending slots 28 are inclined toward the notch or slot 2|,

In installing our improved rail anchor in operative position on the rail flange it], it is first put into the position illustrated in Fig. 1, the bar l4 extending beneath the base of the rail and transversely thereof, the C-shaped clamping jaw l1 partially engaged with the edge of the rail flange and the jaw portion 15 bearing against the under surface of the rail base. As a result the bar H1 is flexed downwardly, narrowing the slot 28, as illustrated in Fig. 1. A blow from a hammer or other tool on the C-shaped clamping jaw l 7 then forces the anchor to the right relative to the rail base from its position shown in Fig. 1 to its position shown in Fig. 2, wherein the G-shaped clamping jaw has been driven inwardly on the rail flange l0. expanding the jaw to tightly seize the rail flange, while in response to the longitudinal movement of the anchor, the jaw portion H: to be moved past the adjacent edge of the rail flange and in response to the bending stress imposed on the bar springs upwardly into locking engagement with said edge,

Our improved rail anchor has been placed 4 under exacting tests in practice and has also been purchased in substantial quantities by railways which have installed the anchor on their lines. This experience with the improved rail anchor has demonstrated that it efiiciently prevents contact between the anchors and the tie plates and thus avoids the loosening of the spikes and other faults in the types of rail anchors previously known. Again it has been found that where our improved anchor has been used, a less number of anchors per mile or for each length of rail is required.

The anchor is preferably formed by forging and subsequent heat treatment to provide the requisite resiliency to enable it to be installed in the manner above described and to insure against accidental loosening or dislodgment.

We claim:

A rail anchor for engagement with the base flange of a railway rail comprising an elongated bar positioned beneath said flange, clamping jaws carried by the opposite ends of said bar for engagement with the opposite edges of said flange, and a pair of vertically depending plates secured to the opposite sides of said bar and offset laterally therefrom, said bar being provided with a transversely extending sot in its upper surface and substantially mid-way between the ends of said bar, each of said plates being provided with a narrow slot intermediate the ends thereof, said slots extending from the bottom edges of said plates and terminating adjacent the lower surface of said bar, the unper ends of said slots being disposed substantially beneath the transverse slot in said bar, whereby said bar and plates are flexible to permit easy application of the rail anchor to said flange.

JACOB A. I-IYLE. STANLEY L. FAVINGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,702,978 Norwood Feb. 19, 1929 1,728,188 Natale Sept. 17, 1929 2,322,742 Gailor i- June 22, 1943 

